Metro gets kick out of soccer
More than 3,000 players signed up in tri-communities
The good news is that soccer is booming in Moncton. The bad news is that the sport has hit the wall in this city.
"It has become stagnant a bit mainly because we have facilities issues,'' said Codiac Soccer president Dale Briggs. "We would need more fields in order to accomodate more players.
"The last three years we've been around 1,600 players and we've stopped there mainly because we don't have enough facilities to accomodate a bigger number. With more fields, I think you would see soccer keep growing in Moncton and probably plateau around 2,000 players.''
There are six soccer fields at the CN Sportplex, but the city doesn't allow them to be used by those above the under-16 age bracket. That creates a logjam with older divisions trying to find field time elsewhere in the community.
"We usually have a spring meeting with the recreation department to go over any issues and essentially just to have a chat about how things are going generally,'' said Briggs. "We raise that point every year (that we need more soccer fields).''
There are more than 3,000 soccer players in Metro Moncton and they range from the under-four age group up to adult. Codiac Soccer used to oversee the tri communities, but the sport got so big that Riverview and Dieppe broke away and formed their own associations in the past six years.
The first registration has passed for Codiac Soccer, but forms are still available online at www.codiacsoccermoncton.com and through all McDonalds restaurants in Moncton.
Registration forms can be mailed in or dropped off at the Codiac Soccer office in the Tim Hortons 4-Ice Centre. The association hopes to have all forms in by the end of this month.
Briggs points out the state of soccer is healthy in Moncton, but he acknowledges the need for more coaches.
"Soccer is not hockey,'' he said. "Soccer doesn't have the same following and it doesn't have the same resource people that hockey does in this community. The coaches we get are volunteers and we're so pleased to get them, but finding people with soccer backgrounds is difficult.
"We invest in our coaches in the sense that we offer them development clinics and we pay for these. It's a situation where the rest of the world has embraced soccer many years ago and we seem to be doing it much slower in Canada.''
The Riverview Soccer Association will have its last official registration on May 9 from 6-8 p.m. and May 10 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the soccer hut on Dobson Field. Registration forms can also be obtained at www.riverviewsoccer.com and mailed in to the address shown on the website.
Shawn Dempsey was among the group of people who took part in forming the Riverview Soccer Association in 2004 and he's now vice-president. That body has grown from 600 players when it was founded to 800 last year.
"I think as the numbers grew in Codiac Soccer it was impossible to adequately serve everyone,'' he said. "It's not a knock on Codiac Soccer. The numbers grew to the point that you're scheduling for more than 3,000 players in Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe.
"It's very hard to deal with a program that size so we decided to do our own thing. With 800 players in our program in Riverview, we're now at a point where we're adding bodies to keep up with the demands. It's amazing how soccer has taken off here.''
Dempsey makes it clear there's a shortage of soccer fields in Riverview.
"It's to the point this year where we've got the older age groups playing under the lights because we just don't have enough fields to go around at prime time,'' he said. "We've already talked to the Town of Riverview. I think the town to a large extent recognizes the growth of soccer and the need for additional facilities.''
Dempsey also acknowledges that Riverview has had a "relatively serious problem'' finding soccer coaches in the past couple of years.
"Last year, I was on the phone going through a list of parents saying 'We've got 15 kids on this team and we don't have a coach. Are you interested?,''' he said. "There's a fear among some people.
"They'll say they don't know enough about soccer to coach where that fear may not be the same for baseball or hockey. We're telling them 'Listen, if you're breathing you're qualified.' It's hard to find coaches with a soccer background for the house league level.''
There are more than 700 players in Soccer Dieppe. Registration has passed, but those who still want to sign up can request a form by phoning 855-2202 or by sending an email to soccerdieppe@gmail.com.
"We have more younger players now than five years ago,'' said Soccer Dieppe president Christine LeBlanc. "We tend to lose some older players when they start to work and save for university. Overall, though, our numbers have stayed the same within 50-100 players.
"I think the positive media attention that soccer has received has helped the sport grow in New Brunswick. It's less expensive than sports like hockey so it opens the door to a lot more people in the community. I also think our technical directors are doing an excellent job of promoting soccer in New Brunswick.''
There are 10 soccer fields in Dieppe, including four in Dover Park.
"We need more fields, but I can't complain too much,'' said LeBlanc. "For the most part, we're able to figure things out with the schedule. We schedule the older players for night games, but we only have one field with lights so that becomes a problem sometimes.''
Dieppe is also looking for soccer coaches.
"It's not easy finding volunteers,'' said LeBlanc. "We provide training for all our coaches. They are certified through Soccer New Brunswick and Soccer Canada with clinics and we also provide them with manuals.''
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